My Personal Hitman
by barry effin gibb
Summary: Ashley Edwards is the new ring announcer for Monday Night Raw. However, she's got a mouth on her like nobody's business. The Undertaker gets looped into helping her keep that mouth running. OC x Undertaker
1. Chapter 1

**My Favorite Accident  
by amplified ecstasy  
chapter one: the Personal Hitman**

While I knew deep down inside that the Undertaker would return that night, I had no idea how to prepare myself for what was about to happen. Jeff Hardy had lost his match and CM Punk was now standing over his motionless body, holding the title up in the air. It didn't even seem to faze him that the entire Staples center was booing for him. I watched Punk intently, watching him revel in his win.

He deserved it, I decided from my spot behind Lillian. I guess I should explain _why_ I'm sitting on the floor with Lillian and Justin Roberts, watching like a little kid in a candy store. I was lucky enough to be chosen by Vince McMahon and Lillian Garcia to be the new announcer on Monday Night Raw once Lillian had her final show. I was there for Summerslam to learn the ropes. Quite literally, because for one match, I stood in the ring with Lillian and she told the fans that I was the replacement and told them to be nice to me.

So, that's why I was sitting there in such close proximity to CM Punk. Hell, Randy Orton had actually pushed me aside in his rush to grab his WWE title from Justin that I felt honored. While I watched the lights flicker on and off, I simply disregarded it and looked at Lillian who looked transfixed. I stood up and Justin grabbed my forearm. "You're about to witness history," he whispered, pulling me down into my metal chair again. I crossed my legs just as the entire Staples center went dark and bells tolled.

I gasped. I had no idea that the Undertaker was returning _this _way. Well, honestly, there were no other matches and I didn't really expect much else from the Phenom.

After ten seconds, the lights flicked back on and Punk began to laugh, shaking his head. He didn't really look down and neither did I until I heard Justin laugh and saw Punk's eyes bulge.

Looking down to the mat, I spotted the massive chest that belonged to the Undertaker and watched silently as the man reached up and clenched his fist around the new World Heavyweight Champion's throat. The crowd went insane, their man was back.

I stared in amazement as the Undertaker threw Punk into a choke slam and looked down with no remorse. Shaking my head at the idea of how much pain Punk was in, the Undertaker left the ring and up the ramp. As the Phenom walked backstage, Punk moaned in the ring and we announcers were told that we were off the air.

"There's one more match," Justin said with a nod, handing me a microphone.

Horrified, I glanced at Lillian and she nodded assuring me that it was okay. "Divas are the easiest matches to announce," she nodded. "Just the name and the place they're from. Unless it's Mickie or Michelle," she said. "Which then you throw in the Diva's champion or Women's champion," she nodded gently. "You'll do fine," she said, pushing me towards the ring.

I stepped up the steps and pouted my lips while the referee parted the ropes for me. Mumbling "thanks", I walked to the center of the ring and cleared my throat before bringing the microphone up to my lips.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this next match is set for one fall and is a 10 diva battle royal for the WWE Women's Championship," I said simply with as much gusto as Lillian would do.

The music of Michelle McCool hit and I smirked as the heel diva made her way to the ring.

"Making her way to the ring from Palatka, Florida – she is the WWE Women's Champion, Michelle McCool!"

As Gail Kim, Kelly Kelly, Beth Phoenix, Eve, Rosa Mendez, Melina, Mickie James and the Bella twins all entered the ring, I would announce them and when I was done, I fixed my white mini dress and slid out of the ring moving back to Justin and Lillian. They gave me the thumbs up and we made our way out of the front area, moving backstage with a few of the television announcers. Matt Stryker wrapped his arm around my shoulder and grinned innocently.

"Good job tonight," he said with a grin.

I smiled innocently and Justin moved so he wrapped his arm around my waist. "Hands off, Stryker," Justin said in a protective tone. "She's my prodigy."

Lillian cleared her throat and both boys let go of me. "She's my prodigy," Lillian cleared up before grinning. "C'mon, Ashley. Let's go introduce you to the guys you'll be working with all the time," she nodded.

We walked through the backstage area and she introduced me to John Cena, who was absolutely adorable, Randy Orton who apologized for the push earlier and Santino Marella.

I turned around to go to my locker room after I spoke to the guys, gasping when I ran into a brick wall.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" I heard a deep rumbling. I knew the black unitard and I knew that I had run into the Undertaker.

I gasped and looked up at him, brushing a strand of my dark brunette hair out of my emerald eyes. "I – I – I –"I said.

"Mark!" Lillian said as I finally broke my gaze. "I don't know if you've met my latest girl," she nodded as Mark's eye lined eyes stared down at me with a modest look of disgust.

I froze in my spot.

"This is Ashley Edwards and she's Raw's new announcer," she nodded.

Mark merely grunted. I didn't know if he cared particularly. Especially since he was on Smackdown in the first place, but to my surprise, he reached out and offered me his hand.

Nervously, I reached out and shook it gently. "Nice to meet you," I said cordially.

At six foot ten inches, Mark towered over my five foot three frame. He was a giant, straight up.

"Nice to meet you too," he said, but I could feel that it was a bit forced. Maybe he was only being nice to me because I had Lillian right next to me.

Letting my hand slide out of his massive paw, I smiled up at him nervously. "You're on Raw, then," Mark said tentatively. I nodded softly.

"I'm going to be going to Raw a few times in the next few months," he said softly. "You might want to get my stats down," he nodded gently.

"Okay," I said softly. It was practical for the entire roster to be memorized, even people on the reserve list. I didn't know anything about the Undertaker other than he was huge and scary.

"Well," Lillian said. "We have a flight to catch, we'll see you around, Mark!"

Mark nodded and leaned against the wall while Lillian and I walked back to our room.

"He's scary," I said simply.

Giggling, Lillian handed me my bag. "Mark?" she asked. "He's a teddy bear," she nodded. "But he does have kind of a temper in him," she nodded. "I remember one week on Raw; he was visiting Kane, and it wasn't even in the storyline but Taker just unloaded on the referee. Rumor was that Mark's wife said she wanted a divorce that afternoon," she said.

"So, he's single?" I asked casually.

Lillian tisked her finger at me, "No relationships," she said.

"What about you and the Rock?" I countered quickly.

"Duane and I," Lillian said, shouldering her own bag and leading us out of the room and down the cement hallway. "We were different," she said.

"How so?"

"That's for us to know and you to never find out," she said before giving me a wink. "Besides," Lillian said. "Mark isn't… the most romantic guy on the roster," she said. "You'd be better of with someone like Evan Bourne or… Edge," she nodded.

I scrunched my nose up. I was twenty-four, so for Lillian to recommend the younger Bourne and then the crazy, egomaniac that was Adam "Edge" Copeland, I shook my head. "I don't know," I said.

"Romance in this business is hard to find," she nodded. "Except for the rare occurrences," she stated.

"Like?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow as we slid into the limo that was waiting to take us to the airport. We left Justin behind due to the fact that he wasn't coming to Las Vegas like we were for RAW. He was going to stay behind in LA for Smackdown's taping on Tuesday.

With a soft smile, Lillian shrugged. "Well, Stephanie and Triple H are like, _the_ holy grail of romances that spring from work. I mean, that is the NUMBER one you know of off hand. Then there's the little… fling that Chris Jericho had with Kelly but other than that, there aren't that many. Melina and Batista… me and Batista," she rattled off. "All of the WWE relationships that actually _last_," Lillian said. "I can count on one hand."

"Well, maybe something will happen and you can add one more," I said with a soft laugh. She smirked and left the conversation with that. With a soft grin, I leaned back and dazed off.

--

The next night was pretty insane, I thought as I sat backstage at the arena in Vegas. I was sitting with Santino and Randy; who were making jokes about the guest host, Floyd "Money" Mayweather. "At least he could take out the Big Show," I heard from behind us. I turned and saw Chris Jericho with his title belts held over his shoulder.

"Yeah," Randy said as he turned his head to stare at the cocky male. "With brass knuckles," he nodded. "Hey, Ashley, I'll see you later girl, I've gotta go fight," he said, leaving me.

"If I remember correctly," I stated, glancing at the Big Show that came up behind Jericho. It was like Chris hired him to be his own personal hit-man. Santino seemed amazed that on my first real night as a WWE employee, I would give a superstar shit. Not to say he wasn't proud, though. "When you were the Intercontinental Champion, the Big Show challenged you," I rattled off.

"And you got knocked out," I said. "And then bitched about the next week," I smirked. "Interesting," I nodded in "hello" to the Big Show who gave me a glare like the Undertaker did the night before. I seemed to be jaded to it seeing as I didn't flinch or anything.

Before I knew it, the Big Show was in my face glaring down at me and I could only look back up at him. Fear flooded through my veins but I didn't move. I let out a soft sigh as I felt a strong hand on my shoulder. I figured it was Santino but the Show didn't look down at the man behind me. He actually had to look forward.

Feeling the curiosity get the best of me, I turned and looked up seeing Mark standing with me, a glare on his face as he stared at Chris and the Big Show.

"What seems to be the problem?" he asked the two champions. Chris began to look a bit flustered while Big Show stood his ground.

I shrugged my shoulders but Mark's hand stayed planted on it. "We were just talking," I said innocently.

Big Show turned to look down at me and gave a dangerous look before rolling his eyes and walking off. "Thank God I don't really have to deal with you – just announce me the right way and we'll be fine." he called out. "And don't get in my way."

Chris followed like a sick puppy and when they were gone, Mark finally released my shoulder. When he let me go, I mentally melted and I leaned against the wall out of fear.

"You've got to watch your mouth around here," Mark said in a warning tone like he was a father, scolding me. He even went so far to wag his finger in my face.

I shrugged. "I can't help it!" I said simply, shaking my head. "I'm a Jersey girl!" I informed him. "If someone steps up to me, then I'm gonna step back," I said. "Don't judge me," I shot, pushing his hand out of my face. He looked like he was ready to sucker punch me but I stood my ground.

"Those aren't little Jersey girls," Mark snapped. "They're trained professionals that will tear you apart if they get the chance," he said.

"I'm a big girl," I stated harshly. "Don't worry about me," I snapped, moving from his grasp – I hadn't even noticed he grabbed my wrist in our little tift and walked towards the guerilla entrance where I met up with Kofi. He gave me a small smile and I nodded in "hello" before my new theme music hit.

The instrumental track of "See U in the Dark" by Honor Society hit and I skipped down the ramp, waving at the fans that had begun to cheer for me. Lillian announced me as her replacement and left the ring, I gave her a hug before I slid onto the mat. I was different than Lillian style wise, I was wearing a pair of stiletto heels with a pair of dark jeans and a silver top; Lillian was a rocker and I wanted to be just like a girl next door.

"What's up Las Vegas?" I asked rhetorically and the fans screamed in response. I smirked.

"Well, let's get this party started shall we?" I asked with a grin. Before I knew it, the theme for Legacy hit and Cody and Ted DiBiase Jr were walking down the ring.

"This match is set for one fall and is for the unified tag team championship." I announced. "Introducing the challengers at a combined weight of 439 pounds, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase; Legacy!"

Legacy entered the ring and Cody flashed me a smug smirk before nodding in a "hello", hitting all four corners. They were hated… but the people liked them more than the champions.

The mix of Jericho and Big Show's theme hit and I spoke again. "And their opponents, the WWE Unified tag team champions," I said. "Chris Jericho and the Big Show!"

I walked out of the ring and moved to where the bell was, watching the action first hand. This job was a dream that came true. I had watched wrestling since I was a little girl with my older brothers. They were super psyched that I got the job and I was sure that they'd be in the front row when Raw went to my home town of Jersey in a few weeks. As I watched, I saw Jericho point me out and motion the Walls of Jericho before I bit my bottom lip and rolled my eyes. He was all talk until he was alone, I figured. When he didn't have his body guard.

But really, wasn't I the same way? I spoke a big game but when I got into trouble, I was a pound of melted butter. Until Mark gave me the strength to keep spitting insults. I hadn't even really gotten to know the guy but I wanted him around. Especially if I were going to be getting threats from Jericho while he was in the ring.

I heard the King mention to the audience that I was just a rookie and I hadn't been with the company for more than two days and Michael Cole reminded the audience that Jericho was just off a win at Summerslam; perhaps that he was so cocky.

"Well," King said. "Cocky or not doesn't mean you can threaten the new ring announcer," he said with a roll of his eyes. He gave me a smile and I watched with a small smirk.

If Jericho wanted to start anything, I knew that Jerry the King would be behind me and willing to help me. But I couldn't help but wonder if Mark would come down and save me.

Save me, like I needed _saving_ from Chris Jericho. He was only a few inches taller than me and I'm saying that only because of his hair style.

As the match went on, Jericho and Big Show both took their turns staring at me and giving me threatening looks and gestures. It was like they were using Ted and Cody as their dummies that I was supposed to believe were me. I pouted when Big Show pounded both of the boys into the mat at the same time. He then looked at me and gave me a faint smirk as if this were fun to him.

When Jericho threw the Codebreaker on Cody, Big Show came over to the side while their music hit and picked me up around the middle. I began to kick and scream and before I knew it, Jerry was trying to get me out of the Big Show's grip. He was met by a steel chair from Jericho who had cut his celebration short.

Big Show carried me into the ring and finally set me down while Jericho talked to the crowd.

"You see," Jericho said simply. "Ashley is the newest member at Raw and we decided we'd give her a little bit of a welcome wagon," he informed the crowd as they booed. This wasn't apart of the storyline, I thought. But then again, neither was me talking shit to the champs anyway.

The Big Show grabbed my throat and squeezed all the life out of my lungs as I was about to fall limp. He smirked and pulled me up into the air, ready for a choke slam.

"Now, hold on just one second," I heard Chris' casual tone say with a shake of his head. "Don't think that you're going to get away with doing _all_ of the dirty work, Show.."

He put the microphone down and motioned for the Show to let me down. He did and Jericho smirked gently, taking my legs and wrapping them around his waist, twisting and put me in the Walls of Jericho. I yelled in pain and shook my head, hitting the mat out of instinct.

"Aww," Show said, "She's tapping out, how adorable!"

Jericho wrenched on my shins and I screamed in pain- the arena was silent now, in awe of what was happening to the newest Raw member. He let me go and Big Show choked me again, throwing me up in the air one more time.

The distinct sound of bells hit and the arena went dark. Automatically, Big Show's grip loosened and dropped me to the hard mat. The wind was knocked out of me and my lower back hurt like a bitch, but other than that, I was alright.

I bit my bottom lip in the darkness, scared as to what would happen. Would Mark come and hurt me too after what I said to him backstage? Tears came down my face and I began to look around nervously.

Suddenly, I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around me and pick me up. When the lights hit, I saw the Undertaker and I on the megatron above us, he was holding me bridal style with a deadly glare pointed at Jericho and Big Show, who had ran up the ramp in fear.

"I don't know what you were thinking," he mumbled to me.

"I was doing my job!" I said, burying my head in his chest as he carried me out of the ring to the cheers of the fans. I was shaking and crying in the arms of a huge Goliath and surprisingly, he was holding me tighter to his chest.

He passed my locker room and moved to a room I didn't know existed, pushed the door open and shook his head at me while he sat me down on a wooden bench. He exhaled and I watched him intently.

"I told you that they were going to get you," he said simply. "They'll get anyone at anytime to further their career."

"But I… I'm just an announcer," I said.

"On the number one prime time, episodic television show in the history of sports," Mark complied.

I sighed and leaned back. "Ow," I mumbled.

"Walls of Jericho got you?" he asked me roughly.

"Yes," I said. "And the choke slam – and being jerked up to 20 feet high by you," I exaggerated as he moved to get me an ice pack.

"Keep this on it," Mark told me simply, shaking his head at me.

I did as he told me and watched as he pulled the straps of his unitard down. "You have to watch your back," he said simply.

"I tried to," I lied.

He opened his mouth to speak but looked to the door. Someone was knocking on it. He got up and motioned for me to stay put as he opened it up.

"Hey man!" a guy said.

"Shane, right now's not the time," he said simply, going to shut the door.

"I have a proposition for you," the man continued. "A three week story line with you and Ashley; you protect her and she starts fights. You can fight with anyone you want on the roster as long as Ashley starts the fight first," he said.

Mark looked back at me and before I could protest, I heard the words "Deal."


	2. Chapter 2

Exactly one week had passed since I started working with the WWE, along with working with Mark. I knew that I would have to spend more time with him, which also meant instigating fights between wrestlers. I wasn't looking forward to it, that was for sure - because I knew that along with new arguments with new superstars, I wouldn't be able to just forget the fight that I had started with Jericho and the Big Show.

Mark had decided that he was going to get me ready if I ever needed to fight in the ring - which if last week was a sign of what was in store for me and my career, I would have to have quite a few skills and fast. So, that would be why I was walking through a gym in the city that Friday Night Smackdown was in that week. I think it was Denver, but don't hold me to it. I wore a pair of red shorts and a black tank top which had "Diva" in cursive writing across the chest, my dark hair pulled back into a bun. My water bottle in hand, I walked around, looking for the Goliath that I had started to work with earlier that week. When I saw him, I have a gave him a half smile, "Hey there," I mumbled- however, his attention was on the punching bag that he was making move around with each hit. I wondered if I would ever be expected to hit a bag that hard - or a person, for that matter. He gave a breath of air with each hit and I knew that I was expected to be silent until he acknowledged me. Mark Calloway was very different than the Undertaker which was seen every week on television. Unlike his persona, he wore no eyeliner, his hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail and he wore a pair of black sweats and a white wife beater. No frills, that was for sure. Once he was done, he looked down to me and gave a small nod of his head. "How are you doing, Ashley?" he asked me, sipping from his protein shake. I grimaced and he gave a small chuckle. "Still sore, then?" I gave a groan, "Oh, my god," I said. "You have absolutely no idea how sore I am!" I whined, moving with him when he started to go off towards the treadmills. He motioned for me to hop on and I did, afraid if I didn't, he'd get angry with me again - and I did not want the Undertaker angry with me. He moved to the one next to me and gave a nod of his head, starting to jog.I matched his pace. "I know," Mark said, "I get that way when I haven't been in the ring in a while," he informed before shrugging his shoulders. "You get used to that pain and it soon becomes addictive," he shrugged. "Just wait until that time…" he smiled. Somehow, I thought, I didn't think that I would really want to have that time happen in my life. I hated working out, surprise, surprise, I worked with the WWE. I knew that if I didn't start working out, however, that Vince would soon get on my case. And if I thought that the Undertaker was bad when angry - I did not want to be around when Vincent Kennedy McMahon got pissed.

After about a minute and a half, I was ready to give up, but I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of Mark. So, I pushed myself. "How long have you wanted to work for the WWE?" he asked me, raising an eyebrow over to me. I noticed how his eyes crinkled in the corner, even when he was raising his eyebrows. His face had seen a lot of stress, I figured. Hell, last time I checked, he was one of the two people who had started with Monday Night Raw when it first aired and was still with it to this day. I think Shawn was the other one…"Ashley.."I jerked my head over to him, I hadn't been paying attention. Suddenly I felt like I was a child, about to be chided by my father for not having paid attention to everything that he had said. Surprisingly, he gave a small smile. "Oh," I said gently. "I would say…. About five years? My grandpa and I watched Raw all of the time."Mark nodded, "How does he feel about you finally getting here?" he asked.

Slowly, I shook my head. "He passed away about a year and a half ago," I told him as I slowed down my pace - suddenly not feeling like running anymore. "Oh," Mark said, his turn to feel awkward. "I'm sorry to hear that," he nodded. I shrugged, "It's all good, he was a great guy - but I know that it would've been selfish to keep him here. He was in pain on Earth and now he's up in heaven."Mark was silent."How does your family take you being in the WWE?" I asked. His face faltered, falling just the slightest bit before he shook his head roughly. "We'll talk about that some other time. What we need to do is get a game plan working," he said. "We need to figure out where you want to be in the company in three weeks," he said slowly. "I mean, we need to know who you want to have fought - we're taking this story line up until pay-per-view," he nodded. I bit my bottom lip, "I don't really know," I confessed. "Honestly, I just wanted to be a ring announcer, maybe move up after a while and write some storylines or something - I don't really want to be apart of a storyline," I shrugged. For once, I heard him give a booming chuckle. "A girl who doesn't want to be apart of the spotlight?" he asked, hitting his thigh. "Wow," he said. "That's impressive. Storyline writers usually are people who used to wrestle," he nodded. "So, I mean, you're on the right track," Mark shrugged. "But, let's see… do you want to wrestle at all? Or do you wanna be just my little…" he shrugged his shoulder. "My little…. Escort type of thing."I thought about this for a second or two. What did I want to do? If I became a real diva and not just his escort, I could have even more power in the company once the story line ended. However, I really did not think that this story line would just go away in three weeks. Not one bit, especially if I knew the company like I thought that I did. But, if I stayed his escort, I couldn't be touched… I couldn't be put into a mixed-gender tag teamed match. I contemplated this again before sighing slowly. "What do you think I should do?" I asked. Mark eyed me up and down, stopped his treadmill and jumped off, "C'mere," he said. I did the same and stood in front of him. His cold eyes weren't as cold without their eyeliner, he watched me intently before he reached out and pushed me gently. I gave a small gasp but kept my balance. "What did you do that for?" I snapped suddenly. "It's for balance -- if you don't have balance, you have no business being in that ring as a wrestler," Mark informed me. He then let his hand go to his chin, "I think that you have what it takes," he said simply. "You've got the look--" I smiled. "The damsel in distress look," Mark shrugged. The smile went away. "The look that says if you had to, you could fight your way out of a paper bag," he said. "That's what guys like.. The girls that can be stupid and ditzy, yet throw a punch… wear skimpy clothes…" Mark gave a dog-like grin. I scoffed. "Is that what _you_ go for?" I said, grabbing my water bottle and taking a long sip. "I go for degrees in business or better, " Taker told me, rolling his eyes. "Divas are skanks."

"Good thing I'm not a diva, huh?" I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes. He shrugged. "Yet."--Vince McMahon's office reminded me a lot of my high school principal's office back in Jersey. It had maroon walls, a large window in the back and a very modern looking desk and other matching pieces of furniture. If I wasn't there with Mark, I could have possibly thrown up on myself, worried about what I was there for. But since Mark was there, I knew that I was there to sign the contract. When I walked into Vince's office, I felt underdressed. I wore a black pair of high heels, a high-waisted black skirt that hugged my hips and a pink button up blouse which was tucked into said skirt. My long dark curls were pulled back in a half pony-tail with a few framing my face. I pursed my lips, taking in Vince's appearance.

Vince was a very tailored man, with a very tailored look. He currently wore a black suit with a gray shirt and black tie. His hair was perfectly styled and his shoes were so shiny that I could see myself in them. Mark, however, obviously didn't care about the meeting with his boss enough, to change out of a pair of dark wash jeans and a black t-shirt. The man owned so much black that I was shocked. It looked like an rebelling eighth-graders' wardrobe. I pouted my lips and when Vince told me to sit, I did, in a comfortable white chair next to Mark. "Now! Ms. Edwards!" he said. "I hope that you are comfortable with the idea of being Mark's escort for the next three weeks," he beamed. "I know that we are very happy to be able to offer you a spot on our storyline. Now, as Shane might have told you - you will be required to travel with Mark, to each show, every week. Since Mark is not on ECW, or will not be on NXT training a rookie, you will be required to show up for Monday Night Raw and Friday Night Smackdown's recordings." I nodded my head and Mark simply leaned back in his spot. "Yes, Mr. McMahon," I said gently. "Vince, please," he said gently. "Mr. McMahon was my father.."I gave a smile at his remark and relaxed a little bit. "You will be able to talk "trash" to any male on the roster, and once you get a few wrestling moves in your arsenal, you will be able to talk "trash" to any female on the roster as well. The only thing that we ask is that you give either Mark, or I a heads-up to whom you will be talking to that evening. Like, tonight," Vince said. "Is Monday Night Raw -- who would you like for Mark to go up against?" Mark and I had spoken about this at the gym earlier in the day and had come up with a good opponent for the evening. "The Miz," I said gently. "I will let Mike know shortly." Mark gave a soft cough, "Vince, if this really picks up," he said, his tone rather smooth. "Would we be able to extend this, perhaps? I was thinking about how Shawn was talking about a rematch at Mania this year," he said. "I could have Ashley go out there and talk smack to like, D-Generation X or something?" Mark asked. I quirked a brow. Would that mean that I would be a heel after I started talking crap about Shawn Michaels and Triple H? I bit my bottom lip gently while Vince seemed to wonder about this idea that Mark had just given. "Like, right after the Elimination Chamber match, I could have Ashley go out there and talk all this smack--""See," Vince said, putting his hand up, silencing Mark quickly. "We're doing the whole, Shawn is trying to get you to give him the rematch at Mania - starting up at the Slammy awards," Vince shrugged. "IF- and only if, you wanted to have Ashley to be along for the ride on the road to Wrestlemania, then you're going to have to make sure, personally, that this story line works and that the WWE universe doesn't get sick of it." Vince said simply. Mark pursed his lips as I watched him interestedly. If Mark had to keep me around for Wrestlemania, that was at least four months away! I was surprised that he was coming up with ideas to keep me here. Keep me with him.

Vince's office was silent for a long moment, I knew that we were all thinking about how we could keep the storyline interesting. "What if," Mark said softly. I turned, looking to Mark with an interested look - I was really wondering what he could have come up with. The way he looked was making me nervous, however. He paused to make me squirm a bit before giving me a knowing laugh. "What if," he continued slowly. "We go ahead and make it so we have a big guy, maybe like the Big Show--" Vine cut him off again. "No, no. I'm not using the Big Show again," he said. "He gets out of control with his storylines and I don't need her," he jabbed his finger to me. "Getting hurt."I made a note to say thank you to him later. "Alright," Mark said softly. "Then, we stick with my other idea," he said. "We start to date.""What?" I choked. Vince smirked, "Mark, you know that this would change your persona," he said. "You wouldn't be the anti-hero, you wouldn't be the Dead Man… You'd have a heart."Mark pursed his lips before exhaling slowly. "I know.""Would you be willing to do that?" Vince asked before I gave a nervous shrug of my shoulders. "I don't care."--Vince sent the contract off to be revised while Mark and I waited outside of WWE Corporate. We'd have to fly to the show in about an hour - meaning that I would be flying out with Mark. If I were to be his girlfriend, to ease the suspicion of the WWE Universe, I would be required to act like I truly was dating Mark Calloway. I pursed my lips and let my hands go to my hips while Mark lit up his cigarette. "Stop pacing," Mark told me firmly. I ignored him and continued to move back and forth out of nerves. "Ashley," Mark said again. "Stop pacing.""Don't tell me to stop pacing!" I said. Before I knew it, he had flicked his cigarette, moved to my side and grabbed me, holding me tight to his chest. It had been seven days since I had felt him this close to me and I knew that if I wasn't careful, I would soon become addicted to his touch. Something about the proximity of our bodies must have made him feel a bit awkward as well because he soon dropped my waist as if it were on fire. "Stop it," Mark said once again. "Excuse me, Mark? Ashley? Mr. McMahon will see you now," a blonde said from the glass double doors. She was Vince's secretary. "Thanks, Mimi," Mark nodded before stomping on his half-burnt cigarette. "Tell Vince I'm going to be a few? I'm gonna stop and get a soda." he told me.

I groaned and walked inside, up to the elevator and punched the button. "Temper, temper," a voice resonated from behind me. I frowned, this wasn't Mark's voice, either. It gave me chills, though. I pouted and looked over my shoulder to see Chris Jericho. He was wearing the same snide grin that made me wake up in the middle of the night, in a cold sweat. "What are you doing here, Ashley?" he asked with a sickeningly sweet tone.I raised an eyebrow, staying silent."Oh, so now you shut up?" Chris asked. "You talk now when your 500 pound buddy isn't around? Shocking…" It was Mark. "Take your tramp on home, Taker… I'll see you at the show tonight." Chris snapped as the elevator doors opened, he stepped in.

I frowned and opened my mouth to speak but Taker's tattooed arm was looped around my waist, leading me to the stairwell, pushing the door open and stopping.

"Are you okay?" Mark asked genuinely. I was silent again - suddenly, I couldn't speak and I was feeling sick to my stomach."Ashley!" Mark hissed. "Are you alright?"I simply nodded, "I'm fine…" I murmured. He took my hand and led me up the stairs towards Vince's office. "I don't really think that this is going to be as easy as you think," I told him."What do you mean?""People are going to start being this mean to me…. Just as mean as Chris was! I don't want to be hated…""I'm here," Mark shrugged. "But what if you're ever _not_?" I asked.I pouted and crossed my arms as we reached Vince's floor. I was happy to see that Jericho wasn't there. He must've gone somewhere else. Mark cleared his throat. "I won't _not_ be where you are, Ashley. We're stuck together," he said. "Believe me," he said. "I'll get Jericho for talking to you like that," he said softly. "Don't worry." He squeezed my hand as we walked into Vince's office. "Dedication to your storyline already. I love it!" he boomed, handing us a pen and pushing the contract to us. I sighed gently. "Ladies first," Mark nodded. I sighed and let my hand go to the paper, placing the pen to the line above my typed name. Writing in my cursive writing, I traced each letter of Ashley Nicole Edwards and then moved, handing the paper to Mark. Once we were done, we shook Vince's hand and then walked out. "You signed your life away to the Devil," Mark whispered, taking my hand again. "C'mon, I'mma gonna take you out to dinner."


End file.
